Doyal v. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

The opinion of the court was delivered by

SKILLMAN, P.J.A.D.

The Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act (FWPA), N.J.S.A. 13:9B-1 to -30, authorizes issuance of a general permit for an activity in a freshwater wetland “which is not a surface water tributary system discharging into an inland lake or pond, or a river or streamf.]” N.J.S.A. 13:9B-23(b). The issue presented by this appeal is whether the word “inland” in N.J.S.A. 13:9B-23(b) modifies not only “lake or pond” but also “a river or stream,” thus exempting wetlands that discharge into tidal rivers or streams from the prohibition against…